Ajmal Kasab's village men in Pak lash out at India

Residents of Ajmal Kasab's village in Pakistan, after hearing the news of the execution of the terrorist, lashed out at India and hounded journalists who asked about the gunman.

Residents of Ajmal Kasab's village in Pakistan, after hearing the news of the execution of the terrorist, lashed out at India and hounded journalists who asked about the gunman.

The impoverished village of Faridkot, the former home of the 25-year-old Kasab, who was the lone surviving gunman behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks, lies in the farming belt of Punjab province - the residents of which are mostly illiterate farmers and labourers.

Villagers were largely unresponsive when asked about Kasab's hanging in India.

"We don't like anyone being given capital punishment. It is better to pardon. India is Pakistan's enemy and wants to weaken our country. We have no interest whatsoever in what India did with Kasab," said 50-year-old farmer, Ghulam Mustafa Wattoo.

The villagers denied Kasab was one of theirs, and became hostile when asked to talk about the gunman.

"This is a conspiracy against Pakistan. India deliberately implicated Pakistan to get it declared a terrorist state," said landlord Muhammad Zaman, 50

Ghulab Khan, 70, suggested Pakistan should respond to India in a similar manner.

"Pakistan should also hang an Indian incarcerated in a Pakistani jail," he said

Kasab was hanged at a jail in Pune's Yerawada jail at 7:30 am on Wednesday, after Indian President Pranab Mukherjee rejected his appeal for mercy.

He was sentenced to death in May 2010 after he was found guilty of a string of charges, including waging war against India, murder and terrorist acts.

He appealed in the Supreme Court claiming he did not receive a fair trial, but his petition was struck down in August.

During the 2008 attacks, heavily armed gunmen stormed targets in Mumbai including luxury hotels, a Jewish centre, a hospital and a bustling train station.